Fatal Tide by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page A

from her desk.” His voice was hesitant and so was his demeanor. He was fortyish, small and pale and dressed in a neat blue suit. He reminded her vaguely of a milquetoast stereotype from some classic TV show. Only she’d learned there were no stereotypes. Each patient was an individual and deserved to be treated as such.
    “Has she? That’s not like Maria. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” She smiled. “Please come in. I’m sorry. I don’t recall your name.”
    “Archer. Hugh Archer.” He came in and closed the door. “And don’t apologize. I’m used to it. I know I’m one of those men who tend to fade into the background.”
    “Nonsense. It’s just that I usually have Maria’s notes in front of me.” She headed for the door. “I’ll get the new-patient forms from Maria’s desk and then we can talk.”
    “Splendid.” He didn’t move from in front of the door. “I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to talking to you.”
     
    It was after three A . M . when Kelby’s phone rang.
    “I’ve reached Lyons,” Wilson said. “He’s on his way to Tobago. I think he was glad to leave Russia.”
    “Why not? The Antilles are much more pleasant.”
    “Yeah, and the police aren’t nearly as grim about smuggling.”
    “That’s true.”
    “And I may have to get on a plane and head for Nassau.”
    “Why?”
    “I can’t reach Carolyn Mulan. I’ll keep trying to phone her, but I may have to search her out myself.”
    “You tried her office?”
    “I got a recording. She has a secretary, Maria Perez, but I can’t reach her either.”
    “That’s not good.”
    “It’s not unusual for her not to come home. According to her roommate, Maria has several very healthy and torrid relationships with men in town.”
    “And Carolyn Mulan?”
    “She’s divorced and in her fifties. She has no significant other at the moment. She practically lives on her boat when she’s not in her office.”
    “Let me know as soon as you contact her.” He hung up and moved out onto the deck. It was hot and humid and the sea stretched like a dark, placid carpet before him. Dammit, he didn’t like the way the situation was shaping up with Carolyn Mulan. If he’d decided Melis’s doctor might be of use, someone else might have come to the same conclusion.
    He was tempted to start the engines and head out for Melis’s island. He was tired of twiddling his thumbs and waiting. He’d never been a patient man, and now that he was coming so close to Marinth he was filled with restlessness.
    He was acting like a kid. Wilson would find Carolyn Mulan. And he could blow everything if he didn’t play Melis Nemid right. No, he would do the smart thing and wait.
     
    At two thirty-five in the morning, Melis was woken from a deep sleep by the ringing of the telephone.
    “Melis?”
    The voice was so hoarse, Melis didn’t recognize it for a moment.
    “Melis, I—need you to come here.”
    Carolyn.
    She sat upright in bed. “Carolyn, is that you? What’s wrong? You sound—”
    “I’m okay. I need you to—” Her voice broke. “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. Cox. I never meant— Don’t come. Lies. For God’s sake, don’t come.”
    The connection was broken.
    Melis reached for her telephone book, and a moment later she was dialing Carolyn’s cell number.
    No answer.
    She called her office and home. She got the recording at both places. She sat there, frozen, trying to clear her mind.
    What the hell was happening? She’d known Carolyn since she was a teenager, and she’d been Melis’s friend as well as her doctor. Melis had always counted on her as a rock of strength, but she hadn’t been a rock tonight. She’d sounded . . . shattered.
    Panic surged through her.
    “Christ.” She swung her feet to the floor and ran down the hall to the guest room. “Cal. Wake up. I’ve got to call the police and then leave for Nassau.”
     
    Hurry. She had to hurry.
    Melis jumped out of the cab at the small terminal and